


She Bloomed Like a Flower to the Sun

by RoseCallainus



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blue Lions Byleth, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Flowers, Fluff, Language of Flowers, Student My Unit | Byleth, Symbolism, The Great Fodlan Bakeoff, The Great Fódlan Bakeoff (Fire Emblem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseCallainus/pseuds/RoseCallainus
Summary: After realising that they're at risk of losing their dearest Byleth to not only the Golden Deer, but to Claude von Riegan, the Blue Lions will do whatever they can to try to convince her to stay. However, when faced with the realisation that none of them have any idea what she's interested in, they decide to take a guess. After all, she spends a lot of time in the greenhouse.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 93





	She Bloomed Like a Flower to the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Meribell64](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meribell64/gifts).



> Hey, loves!
> 
> So, although this is related to Student Byleth, this has no relation to my other series, I Think We're Alone Now, whatsoever! However, if you haven't already, I highly recommend checking it out for more Claudeleth content! Anyway, I've been working on this fic for about three weeks as a birthday present for Meribell, so Happy Birthday! (I'm so sorry it's late!)
> 
> Coincidentally, it also coincides with most of the prompts for The Great Fodlan Bakeoff, so I'm multitasking (no but seriously what a coincidence). Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**She Bloomed Like a Flower to the Sun**

* * *

_Blue Lions Classroom_

_Garreg Mach Monastery_

* * *

_Monday_

* * *

“Guys, w-we have a problem!”

All eyes turned to Ashe, who had frantically burst into the classroom, breathing heavily. He hastily looked between all of his classmates, checking that they were all there before he let out a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the adrenaline wore off the moment that he opened his mouth to speak, finding himself to out-of-breath to form a coherent sentence. Dragging himself over to the nearest chair, Ashe plunked himself onto it as he hunched over, trying to regain his breath enough to offer them an explanation.

“What’s wrong, Ashe?” Dimitri questioned as he walked over to boy, kneeling in front of his chair. He rested a hand on Ashe’s knee as he tried to get a look at the grey-haired boy’s face. Ashe appeared to be unharmed, though his face was flushed red from running.

“I—I…” Ashe held up a finger to indicate that it would be a minute. Mercedes offered to retrieve a glass of water for Ashe, but he simply shook his head no. The room was tense, leading Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain to share an uneasy look. Finally, Ashe spoke. “Claude—he’s trying to recruit Byleth to the Golden Deer! I overheard them talking about it in the greenhouse!”

“Why are they even in the greenhouse together anyway?” Sylvain questioned, though it sounded more like a complaint as his mind automatically jumped to a less-than-savoury place.

“I believe that Byleth was tasked to tend the plants today,” Dedue told Sylvain, his voice as stoic as ever. “It is not unbelievable that Claude would approach her while she worked.”

“Actually, it looked like he was helping her,” Ashe notified them, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as he continued. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, honestly! I just thought that I had forgotten my gloves in there when I saw them. I don’t think either of them noticed me, though.”

“Ashe, you mustn’t apologise for walking in at the wrong time,” Dimitri told him, standing to his feet, and offering Ashe a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I think you’re all getting worked up over nothing,” Felix spoke, crossing his arms as he looked around the room unimpressed before his gaze finally landed on the nervous Ashe. “You’re making it sound like she already agreed.”

“But the thing was, she _didn’t_ seem opposed,” Ashe stressed. “She even said that she would, and I quote, ‘think about it.’ She’s as good as gone!”

“I think you’re being overdramatic,” Felix told him.

“Not necessarily,” Mercedes said, “Byleth and Claude have been spending an awful lot of time together. It would make sense for her to want to transfer due to how close they are.”

“Oh my goddess,” Annette squealed as she turned to Mercedes, excitedly. “Did Byleth say anything to you?! Mercie, I wanna know! Come on, tell me!”

“She hasn’t said anything, I’m afraid,” Mercedes told her best friend. “But I’m just going based on what I’ve seen.”

“Aww, but they’d make such a cute couple!”

“Hmm…” Dimitri furrowed his brow as he contemplated the best course of action. There was no reason for them to believe that Ashe had been exaggerating what he had seen at all, which meant that they could very well be at risk of losing Byleth to Claude. That _he_ could be at risk of losing Byleth to Claude. “This is troubling.”

“You’re telling me?!” Sylvain exclaimed. Though his hair was nearly always styled in a messy fashion, Dimitri had never seen it look messier than it did right now. Sylvain had been running his hands through it this entire exchange. It had appeared that Sylvain was genuinely nervous for the first time since Ashe had run in. “If Claude manages to steal Byleth from us, I’m going to have to go back to flirting with Ingrid!”

“If you even try, I will make you regret it,” Ingrid threatened, narrowing her eyes at Sylvain. “Have I made myself clear?”

“Uh, yes… ma’am?” Sylvain instinctively took a step away from Ingrid as he looked towards Felix for help, the latter simply sighed as he crossed his arms.

“Even I must admit that it would be most… _unfortunate_ ,” Felix closed his eyes, gently biting down on his lip as he contemplated what to say next, “to lose such a skilled adversary.”

“Wow, and here I was thinking that you were going to say something sweet,” Ingrid rolled her eyes at Felix’s statement before sighing. She looked at the men of the Blue Lions with a harsh glare, not excusing any of them from her gaze. “Have any of you actually stopped to think that, hey, maybe Byleth wants to leave because she doesn’t feel appreciated?!”

At Ingrid’s comment, the entire room went silent as everyone looked to her, curious about what she meant. This caused Ingrid to groan with annoyance, turning to Mercedes and Annette for support. The two girls shared a look as they quickly tried to figure out the best way to help.

“I think,” Annette looked at Ingrid with uncertainty, before turning to the rest of the Blue Lions, “what Ingrid is trying to say is sometimes you guys don’t come off as the most _welcoming_?”

“Yeah,” Mercedes slowly nodded her head in approval, “instead of being worried we were losing a precious classmate, you were more concerned about losing somebody to flirt with, or a training partner.”

“You ladies do have an excellent point,” Dimitri agreed. “If that is the case, then we must find a way to remedy this at once.”

“Speaking from personal experience,” Sylvain said, attempting to smooth out the mess that was his hair, “whenever I’ve upset a girl in the past, she’s more likely to forgive me if I provide her a gift of some kind.”

“Sylvain, you’re the last person we should turn to for advice,” Felix gave his old friend a harsh glare as he spoke. Though it was common knowledge that Felix wasn’t a fan of Sylvain’s womanising ways, the tone he had was colder than usual. “Not only is that a dumb idea, but you also forget one important thing: Byleth’s not an idiot. She would be able to tell something was up the moment everybody started kissing the damn ground she walked on.”

“Well, do _you_ have a better idea?!” though it was phrased as a question, it was also dripping with sarcasm. Ingrid couldn’t help but sigh, watching the two go at each other. They had more important things to worry about.

“Yeah. How about we don’t treat Byleth like another one of your flings! If we did things your way, Byleth would realise that you don’t respect her in the slightest!”

“Uh, guys…” Ashe attempted to interrupt the two men, but swiftly got drowned out.

“Oh, that’s golden—you’re talking to me about respect! I’ll have you know I respect every woman I date.”

“Is that a fact or what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night?!”

“Stop fighting!” it was Dimitri who had spoken up this time, his voice was loud enough to break through the argument, causing Felix and Sylvain to stop dead in their tracks as they gave one another a spiteful look, before turning to the prince. “We are not going to solve our problems by arguing. If anyone has any ideas, they should be able to say them without criticism,” Dimitri gave Felix a pointed look, “that being said, does anybody have any ideas?”

“If I may interject,” Ashe spoke with a bit of hesitation, but when Dimitri gave him a nod in affirmation, he continued. “Well, I honestly think that Sylvain has a good point. We need to show her that we care! Though I don’t think material possessions are the way that we should go.”

“And what do you suggest?” Dedue asked.

“Well, why don’t we take a page out of Claude’s book and show that we’re interested in her hobbies. She volunteers for greenhouse duty more-often-than-not, so why don’t we try bonding with her over plants?”

“I thought that she was in the greenhouse already with Claude,” Felix reminded.

“She’s on greenhouse duty every day this week,” Dedue informed them. When everyone turned to give him a questioning look, he elaborated. “Byleth came to me a few days ago to ask how to care for the flowers from Duscar properly. She wanted to give me a break from constantly tending them. I would have refused, but she was quite persistent.”

“Then it’s settled!” Dimitri declared, clapping his hands together. “We’ll each take turns helping her out in the greenhouse, that way won’t overwhelm her.”

“Guys, this isn’t what I meant,” Ingrid input, but she was ignored as they continued chatting.

“This plan is brilliant!” Sylvain cheered. “Not only will we all get to hang with such a babe, but we’ll also be keeping Claude away from her while she works. If any of you want to skip working in the greenhouse, just let me know. I would be more than willing to take over for you.”

“I still think this is a dumb idea,” Felix grumbled.

“Then you can get it out of the way first,” Dimitri told him, offering him a playful smile. “After all, it would be such a waste for such a good sparring partner to be taken by another house, don’t you agree?”

“Hmph, fine.”

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to the library,” Sylvain input as he started walking to the door. “I don’t know jack shit about taking care of flowers, but I’m not willing to look like an absolute fool in front of a cute girl.”

“It would probably be wise for you to join him, your highness,” Dedue turned to Dimitri, a look of anguish on his face. “We do not want a repeat of the weed incident.”

“I thought they were edible,” Dimitri defended.

“You were in the infirmary for three days,” Dedue reminded him.

“And I have learned a valuable lesson from that! Though, I do suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a second look at some botany books…” Dimitri sighed as he and Dedue exited the room. Felix rolled his eyes as he grabbed his sword and strutted out, obviously going to take care of some of his frustration by sparring whoever was in the training grounds.

“I still need to go get my gloves…” Ashe muttered before he followed the others lead.

“Oh goddess, it’s like talking to a brick wall,” Ingrid deadpanned after the last of the boys had finally left “Seriously, how dense can they be?!”

“I don’t know Ingrid,” Mercedes giggled, “it’s almost endearing.”

“That’s one word for it, Mercie,” Annette glanced between Ingrid and Mercedes, a mischievous look on her face. “So, when do you think they’ll find out that Claude and Byleth are practically dating?”

“After they all get rejected,” Ingrid crossed her arms as she looked around the empty room. “Honestly, if they would have spoken up sooner then _maybe_ they would have stood a chance. Or maybe not. They are a bunch of idiots, after all.”

“That may be true, but it certainly makes everything a bit more interesting.”

“This is going to be a disaster, isn’t it?”

* * *

_Tuesday_

* * *

“…and that’s why I no longer climb trees,” Claude finished his tale, causing Byleth to burst out laughing. They had just finished sparring one another during their free hour, and now Byleth had to go to tend to the gardens in the greenhouse. Claude, who wasn’t quite a gentleman but tried nonetheless, had offered to escort her there. Though Byleth would never deny his company, she couldn’t help but wonder if his motive was related to what he had asked her the day prior.

“How are you still alive?” Byleth asked, shaking her head slightly as giggles continued to pass through her lips.

“I ask myself that question daily,” Claude replied nonchalantly, looking up at the clouds in the sky. “It’s a nice day. When you’re done at the greenhouse, we should get our dinner from the dining hall and take it outside, kinda like a picnic. What do you think?”

“Perhaps,” Byleth responded noncommittedly, giving Claude the side-eye, “does this have anything to do with what you asked me yesterday?”

“Depends on which question we’re talking,” Claude teased, offering Byleth a wink. “You might have to refresh my memory.”

“If you don’t remember then I suppose I’m under no obligation to respond,” she countered, and Claude released a fake gasp as though he had been taken aback by that knowledge.

“Beating me at my own game? I’m not sure if I should be terrified or turned on right now.”

“Oh, shut up,” Byleth playfully elbowed Claude in the ribs, causing them both to let out a soft chuckle as they approached the greenhouse entrance.

“But in all seriousness, even if you don’t end up joining the Golden Deer, I genuinely do want to go—”

“Felix?” Byleth cut off Claude mid-sentence due to her shock. Standing next to the full watering cans was Felix, who looked incredibly bored and slightly uncomfortable. “What are you doing here?”

“I dislocated my shoulder during training yesterday, so Manuela is making me take a day off while I recover,” Felix told Byleth, his eyes flickering from her to Claude. The latter had taken a step away from her when she had initially addressed the black-haired boy. Despite the distance between the two of them, Felix’s glare was still accusatory when he looked at Claude, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. “I figured I would make myself useful and help you out with the greenhouse. It was either that or cooking.”

“And you didn’t feel like cooking?”

“Raphael has cooking duty today, and—”

“Wait, Raphael has cooking duty?!” Claude’s eyes widened as he looked at Byleth, panic etching his features. “Look, I’ve got go because this can end _really_ badly for a lot of people unless Raphael is stopped. Trust me.”

Without waiting for a reply, Claude bolted towards the dining hall, narrowly dodging students on the way. Felix had to bite back a laugh as he watched Claude’s reaction. It was initially Mercedes who had cooking duty that day, but it wasn’t difficult to persuade Mercedes to fake ill so that a certain Golden Deer would volunteer to take her place. Though it was a bit underhanded for Felix’s taste, he had to admit that for once, Sylvain’s plan had succeeded.

Who would have thought?

Byleth turned to Felix and noticed that the watering cans beside him were full, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure carrying full watering cans doesn’t count as a rest day.”

“You have no proof that it was me,” he rebuked. For the record, it was him.

“Fair enough,” she said, walking into the greenhouse. Her eyes were instantly scanning over the plants as she tried to figure out where to start. “Since Raphael is in the kitchen, we’ll probably need to harvest some fresh ingredients for whoever’s cooking tomorrow.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Felix said, as Byleth walked over to a stack of baskets, picking up two and handing one to Felix.

“Do you know how to tell when something’s ripe?” Based on the look that Felix was giving her, Byleth assumed that meant yes. “Well, if you have any questions, feel free to let me know.”

With a nod, they both got to work harvesting various fruits and vegetables for tomorrows meals. After about ten minutes of silently working, Felix finally spoke up.

“We should spar.”

“I thought your shoulder was dislocated?” Byleth questioned, raising an eyebrow at the raven-haired man. His basket wasn’t quite as full as hers, but he had managed to collect mostly ripe ingredients. There were a couple tomatoes that were a few days before their peak, but it wouldn’t make that much of a difference when they were cooked.

“When it’s healed, I mean,” Felix corrected as he looked towards Byleth, meeting her gaze. “I’ll beat you one of these days.”

“I’m sure you will,” she agreed, a smile spread across her face. She couldn’t help but notice that as soon as she smiled at him, Felix looked the other way, causing his features to be entirely obscured from her view. “You’re quite persistent, your refusal to give up is what makes you such a challenging opponent.”

“Thanks,” he said, and she hummed in response. After another brief pause (though not nearly as long as before), he spoke again. “If you ever want to do anything besides spar, we can.”

“Come again?” Byleth turned towards Felix in confusion.

“Like with assignments, or whatever,” he muttered. “I’m not as book smart as the others in our class, but I’m not an idiot. I just don’t want you to think I see you as just a sparring partner.”

“Thanks, Felix. The same applies to you.”

The two of them continued to make conversation as they collected the last of the ripe ingredients. When they had finished their job, Byleth took the basket from Felix.

“Thanks for the help,” Byleth told Felix, smiling. “Don’t forget to let me know when Manuela gives you the go-ahead to start training again. I’d love to see the progress you’ve been making.”

“You’re on,” Felix couldn’t help but grin back at that. Byleth was about to turn to leave before Felix spoke again. “Wait, one more thing.”

Felix reached behind him and pulled a bushel of rosemary out of seemingly nowhere. Byleth couldn’t help but cock her eyebrow as she looked at him in disbelief, causing the man to look away from her as he muttered something that Byleth didn’t quite catch. Nonetheless, Byleth extended her hand, taking the plant from him as she examined it. The stems were covered with fuzzy green needles and small dark blue flowers. “We didn’t need rosemary…”

“It’s for you,” Felix spat out harsher than he had intended to, causing him to clear his throat. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t find the will to look Byleth in the eye as he spoke. “I kept seeing it, and it didn’t look like the rest of the flowers. It wasn’t dainty like other flowers, but it was just as pretty. It reminded me of you in that way.”

“Felix, I—”

“Don’t read too deep into it,” Felix deflected whatever response she was about to give by scoffing and walking towards the greenhouse doors. “I just figured it was something nice to do. Anyway, if we’re done here, I’ll be off. Later.”

And with that, Felix left Byleth standing there dumbfounded with two baskets of vegetables and a bushel of rosemary. She looked down at it and muttered to herself. “I guess I’ll keep it? Thanks, Felix…”

* * *

_Wednesday_

* * *

“I can’t believe you gave her a freaking herb!” Sylvain cackled, smacking Felix a little too hard on the back, causing the shorter man to send a glare his way.

“How was I supposed to know?!” he spat. “It had flowers on it! It’s basically the same thing!”

“Ah man, and I thought Dimitri’s dagger was bad. This is _way_ worse!” Sylvain’s laughter had finally died down to a soft chuckle. Though it was diminishing quickly due to a stitch forming in his side from laughing to hard. If you had asked Felix, he would say that it was a well-deserved punishment for being a prat. “Felix, you’re a funny guy, you know that?”

“No,” he deadpanned.

“Well, you are,” Sylvain told him, giving his side a rather harsh rub as he tried to get rid of the pain. “However, you don’t have to worry about Byleth leaving after tonight because I’m going to give her a pretty good reason to stay.”

“Which is?”

“Me,” Sylvain winked at Felix, who simply sighed. Though Sylvain was one of his best friends, Felix regularly found himself questioning the redhead’s motives.

“I still don’t understand how you convinced the others to actually let _you_ out of all people try to talk Byleth into staying.”

“What can I say, I have a way with words.” At the dubious look that Felix was giving him, Sylvain raised his hands in innocence. “Come on, I’m being honest here. You don’t get as many girls as I do without having charisma.”

“Whatever, I still think that this is a bad idea.”

“That’s just because you don’t know how to have fun,” Sylvain teased, causing Felix to scowl in response. “I’m going to woo Byleth so hard that she’ll have no choice but to stay with me.”

“You mean us, right?” Felix corrected. After all, they were going through all this effort so Byleth would stay with the Blue Lions.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sylvain waved his hand nonchalantly at Felix as he looked over towards the greenhouse. “I’ve got this in the bag, watch.”

“I’ll save both of us the embarrassment by staying far, far away,” Felix told him, taking a step away. “It’s your funeral, after all.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” Sylvain shook his head. “You have so little faith in me.”

“Then prove me wrong,” Felix told him, giving him a challenging look. Sylvain couldn’t help but grin a bit at his friend. Even though Felix was coming off as being harsh, Sylvain knew that wasn’t the case. Felix didn’t want Byleth to leave the Blue Lions either, so he was doing what it took to motivate Sylvain into actually proving him wrong.

“That’s what I live for,” Sylvain reminded his friend, before standing tall and making his way over to the greenhouse. He was grateful that Felix had kept him long enough that the pain in his side diminished.

It came to little surprise to Sylvain that Byleth was not alone when he entered the greenhouse. Claude was standing there beside her (a bit too close for Sylvain’s liking) chatting and laughing as he helped her weed the gardens.

“Looks like you could use a hand,” Sylvain said, already rolling up his sleeves before either of them could greet him.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Claude questioned, giving Sylvain a curious look. “I won’t lie, this is the first time I’ve seen you willingly do work when there wasn’t a girl around to impress.”

“I do plenty of work!” Sylvain informed the brunette, his eyebrows furrowed at his subtle jab. “Even ask Byleth, she’ll back me up!”

“Will I?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow at Sylvain. He turned toward her to argue when he saw the corner of her mouth twitch slightly.

Ah, so she was messing with him then.

“Of course you will! After all, you’re one of those girls I’m trying to impress, aren’t you?” Sylvain winked at Byleth, causing her and Claude to share a look as they tried to discern if he was kidding or not.

“Well, if you’re so insistent on helping, you can take over weeding for me while I go refill the watering cans,” Byleth told him. She stood up from the ground and carefully removed the leather gloves she had been wearing, shaking the dirt off before passing them to Sylvain. He took the gloves, looking between them and Byleth.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Sylvain said, though his words sounded certain, his voice said otherwise. Byleth, however, didn’t look twice before thanking him and heading over to the watering cans, walking them in the direction of the pond. As soon as she left, Claude gave Sylvain a knowing look.

“So, Byleth, huh?”

“What about her?” Sylvain turned to Claude; a questioning look was on his face as the brunette looked him up and down.

“Well, rumour has it that whenever a lucky gal goes onto your radar, you’re willing to bend backwards to get her to notice you,” Claude said. “And I’m guessing your current target is Byleth?”

“I mean, who wouldn’t like her?” Sylvain found himself asking Claude, his voice was oddly sincere, surprising both of the men. However, when Sylvain looked Claude in the eye, he saw an undecipherable emotion hiding in his gaze.

“I see,” Claude nods his head slowly as he muttered something quietly to himself, before ultimately standing up. “Anyway, I’ve got somewhere that I need to be. Tell Byleth I’ll catch her later?”

“Huh, really?” Sylvain was perplexed. Though he was grateful for the spectacular timing of Claude having to leave, he couldn’t help but think that it was a little too convenient. After all, Claude had been spending most of his free time with Byleth to try to recruit her. Was he giving up on her, or did he have another trick up his sleeve?

“Yeah, I’ve got a little side project I’ve been working on,” Claude explained as he put away his gloves and garden shears, not even bothering to glance over at Sylvain while he spoke. “Now’s the perfect time for me to finish it.”

“I’m incredibly curious, yet I’m afraid to ask.”

“Good, because I’ve got no intention of telling you,” Claude finally looked Sylvain’s way, offering him a cheeky wink and a mock salute. “Well, I’ll be off then!”

“Good luck?”

With that said, Claude practically skipped out of the greenhouse just moments before Byleth returned with the watering cans filled. She looked at Sylvain quizzically, before sparing a look in the direction that Claude had just disappeared to. “What was that about?”

“I’ve got no idea,” Sylvain answered honestly. He was just as confused as she was, though he supposed that he could use that fact to his advantage. “He certainly seemed to be in a rush to leave before you got back though. I don’t understand it, with you around, who’d want to be anywhere else?”

Byleth simply hummed in response as she walked over to the plants that had already been weeded and gave them a drink from the watering can. Sylvain fought back a groan as he tried again to flirt with the blue-haired woman.

“You know, these flowers are beautiful, but they pale in comparison to you,” to prove his point, Sylvain picked a bunch of brightly coloured five-petaled flowers, holding them up towards the woman as he glanced between her and the flowers, clicking his tongue as he did so. “Close, but still missing something…”

Sylvain scanned over the plants around him, his eyes landing on a plant that looked a bit like thin, green branches covered in small explosions of yellow flowers blooming from the stock. He picked a few of them, and arranged it with the others like a bouquet, holding it to Byleth as he gestured for her to take it. “Humour me, would you? I want to see how it’s beauty compares to you first-hand.”

Byleth gave Sylvain a curious look as she tentatively took the flowers from him. She glanced down to the flowers as she swiftly identified them. “Columbine and fennel, an interesting combination.”

“I would have gone for something more conventional, but I’ve seen them all hundreds of times. I already know that compared to your beauty, they would look like weeds in comparison.” Sylvain looked at the flowers in deep thought, before looking back to Byleth’s face. He removed his dirty glove and tossed it to the side before he plucked one more columbine. Carefully, Sylvain tucked the flower behind her ear, caressing her cheek slightly as he brushed a lock of her hair to the side to get a better view of her face. “Perfect.”

Though Byleth didn’t shy away from his touch, she did look at Sylvain curiously as she tried to figure out what he was up to. Though he hadn’t hesitated to flirt with her before, this was the first time that he had been particularly upfront with her while they’ve been alone. After a minute, her mouth formed an ‘o’ as she furrowed her eyebrows, coming to a conclusion about what his intentions were.

“Although I appreciate the gesture, I’m afraid I can’t reciprocate,” she crudely gestured between Sylvain and herself, “ _this._ ”

Sylvain instinctively raised his hands in innocence, smoothly lying to the girl before him, “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I just thought a pretty girl like you would look even more gorgeous with a bouquet of flowers.” Lowering his hands, he gestured to her like she was a piece of artwork. “I _was_ right, though. You look stunning.”

“I—” Byleth opened her mouth to argue, before shutting it after a moment. She let out a soft sigh as her eyes subconsciously flickered towards the greenhouse exit as she worked out what to say to Sylvain. However, it was at that moment when Sylvain finally realised what was going on.

“You like Claude!” he exclaimed without thinking, causing Byleth’s face to go bright red as she swiftly denied his accusation. However, the more frantic she got, the larger his grin grew as he began to laugh. “Oh goddess, I’m such an idiot. It’s so obvious!”

“No, it’s not!” Byleth squeaked, causing Sylvain to chuckle.

“Lucky bastard, no wonder he left when he did.”

“What are you even talking about?!”

“I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about you,” Sylvain told her, he had finished laughing, and now he was left with a sad smile on his face. “But he knew you were in denial about your own feelings, so he…” Sylvain couldn’t help but scoff. “What a _dick._ Well played, Claude…”

The reason that Claude left as soon as he realised that Sylvain liked Byleth was that he _wanted_ to give Sylvain a chance to confess his feelings, knowing full well that he’d be rejected. Though Sylvain wasn’t sure what Claude’s motive behind it was. Nonetheless, the reason that Claude wanted her in the Golden Deer wasn’t for her combat capabilities, but because Claude simply wanted her for himself.

“I wasn’t in denial,” Byleth crossed her arms, pouting slightly as she spoke. “I just had other things on my mind. I just didn’t want anybody to know my answer before Claude did…”

“What answer?”

“Nothing!” though Sylvain could make a guess about what his question was, he decided to leave it be for now. As fun as it was to tease Byleth, she was much like Ingrid. Meaning, if he pushed it too far, he could very well get punched.

“And does he know you like him?”

“Probably. I don’t know…”

“Well, sounds like you two need to have a conversation,” Sylvain told her. Though he would admit that he was disappointed by this discovery, he wouldn’t outwardly express his disdain. It wasn’t fair on Byleth. He was happy enough being her friend.

But if Claude didn’t treat her right, then there would be hell to pay.

* * *

_Thursday_

* * *

“I can’t believe Sylvain figured it out…” Byleth grumbled as she lied on Mercedes lap, her hair sprawled out into a halo around her head. Several locks of her hair were braided together, and Mercedes was working on another one as they spoke.

“Come on, you really can’t be that surprised,” Annette giggled as she looked over at the two girls from her textbook. Currently, they were hanging out in Mercedes bedroom while they studied. Admittedly, Annette was the only one currently doing any schoolwork.

“Am I really that obvious?” Byleth reached over and grabbed Mercedes pillow, covering her face with it as the other two women laughed at her distress.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think any of the rest of the Blue Lions have put it together besides us, Ingrid, and now Sylvain. But none of us planned on saying anything if you don’t want us to.” Mercedes assured the girl, patting her gently her head.

“I’m still surprised that Sylvain actually put two-and-two together,” Annette said, flipping to the next page of her book. “He’s smart, yeah, but he’s still a boy. And boys are _pretty_ stupid when it comes to girls.”

“I think he’s picked up a thing or two about girls from how many he dates though,” Mercedes reminded. “It still baffles me that he hasn’t gone out with the entire academy at this point.”

“That’s because everyone here already knows what he’s like. But the girls in the village nearby just see him as a suave future knight. To them, it seems like a fairy tale come true.”

“Either way, Sylvain _isn’t_ a bad guy,” Mercedes reminded. “I highly doubt he’ll bring it up to anyone besides Claude.”

“Speaking of Claude,” Annette gave Byleth a pointed look, causing the latter to tightly hug the stolen pillow, averting her gaze as she went dead silent. “You really haven’t spoken a word to him since yesterday?”

“…nope.”

“You really shouldn’t avoid him,” though Mercedes's voice was gentle, it was firm as she scolded Byleth, “he clearly reciprocates your feelings.”

“I know,” Byleth admitted, her body slowly relaxing as she released a breath, she hadn’t realised she had been holding. She busied her hands by fluffing the pillow back up as she continued to speak. “He didn’t just ask me to join the Golden Deer. He asked me if I would be his girlfriend…”

Annette and Mercedes both perked up as Byleth spoke, the two of them sharing a knowing look before bombarding the bluenette with questions.

“What did you say?”

“Does that mean you’re going to join the Golden Deer?”

“Why didn’t Ashe tell us?”

“Why didn’t Ashe _what now?_ ” Byleth shot up as she looked at Mercedes and Annette in surprise. The braid that Mercedes hadn’t yet finished unravelled at her sudden motion, though the rest of them stayed intact as she looked pointedly between the two girls. “Have you guys been spying on me?!”

“Not on purpose!” Annette quickly said, she slammed her book shut as she jumped to her feet, anxiously pacing back and forth as she relayed what Ashe had told them. She told Byleth how Ashe had walked in on her and Claude when he asked her to join the Golden Deer and rushed to tell the rest of the Blue Lions. Worried they would lose her; the rest of the Blue Lions devised a crazy scheme to try to show Byleth how much they appreciated her.

“That’s why everyone’s been so weird lately!” Byleth exclaimed. “I’ve hardly had a minute to myself for the past few days. Not to mention Felix helped me out in the greenhouse a few days ago—he even gave me flowers!”

“They just want to show you that they care about you,” Mercedes explained. “They don’t want to lose you. But what they want isn’t important right now. What do you want, Byleth?”

“I don’t know,” Byleth admitted, slumping slightly. “I really do love being a part of the Blue Lions, I do. I’ve never questioned whether or not you guys care about me or not. But I can’t lie and say there aren’t reasons I want to join the Golden Deer. Reasons that go _beyond_ just Claude.”

“That’s understandable, I guess,” Annette said after a moment. “I don’t really blame you; as much as I love the others, they can be a bit much.”

“That’s not why I’d want to go. Almost everybody in the Blue Lions has a connection with one another in some way. I can’t help but feel a bit like an outsider. But with the Golden Deer, everyone’s an outsider in some way. They make me feel accepted—they make me feel like I’m home. _Especially_ Claude. It’s not an easy decision to make, trust me.”

“We never thought it was,” Mercedes assured, taking one of Byleth’s hands and offering her a reassuring squeeze. “Just know that we’ll support you no matter what you choose.”

“Totally,” Annette agreed. She jumped over to them and grabbed Byleth’s other hand, swinging it slightly as she did so. “Just because we might be in different houses doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.”

“Thank you,” Byleth couldn’t help but smile slightly upon seeing how much the two girls cared for her. “Same here. Golden Deer or Blue Lion, you two are still some of my closest friends.”

Annette couldn’t help but squeal slightly as she jumped onto Byleth, pulling both her and Mercedes into a group hug. The other two girls couldn’t help but laugh as they hugged the short, ginger-haired girl back. After a few moments, they all parted. Byleth took a few steps towards the door, as she waved to the two girls.

“Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I do still have greenhouse duty. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Bye!” the two girls said in unison as Byleth exited the dormitory. Making her way to the greenhouse, Byleth was surprised to see Dimitri from it with a look of determination on his face. Raising an eyebrow, Byleth walked over to the prince. Despite her being in relatively close proximity to him, he hadn’t seemed to notice her presence, prompting her to call out to him.

“Everything alright, Dimitri?”

“Byleth, just the person I wanted to see!” Dimitri’s movement was slow and precise, as though he had rehearsed it, as he faced the greenhouse once again and lead Byleth inside, gesturing around the various plants. “I had decided that I would help you out in the greenhouse today. So, I watered, weeded, fertilised, and harvested everything that needed tending to. Is there anything else that is left to do?”

“What?” Byleth looked at Dimitri in a mixture of shock and worry. Though she was grateful for the help, he had done way more than was necessary for the day. She couldn’t help but wonder if there would be anything for her to do for the remainder of the week since Dimitri had gone above and beyond. “I—thank you?”

“It was my pleasure,” Dimitri bowed to Byleth, who just looked puzzled about the entire exchange. As he returned to a standing position, Dimitri walked over to a stand nearby, picking up a vase filled with rue and handing it to Byleth. “Felix has informed me that you two are to spar sometime within the next few days, so I did some researching on medicinal plants. This was one seems to be quite useful when it comes to treating dislocations, sprains, and other injuries.”

“So, this is for sparring Felix?” Byleth double-checked, causing Dimitri to shake his head.

“Not exactly, I’ve become well enough acquainted with your fighting style. I’m quite certain you’ll come out victorious from that match. However, I wanted to challenge you to a match myself, I’m curious how your sword will fair against my lance.”

“Oh,” Byleth glanced between the herb and Dimitri. It was a sweet enough gesture, his way of proposing a fight with her was by offering her something that helped with injuries. Though, if one didn’t know the prince, they would think that was a way to be cocky. It was equivalent to saying, ‘I’m going to hurt you’. However, she knew that Dimitri held no ill will against her. He just thought of things in a more practical sense. “Thank you. I accept your challenge.”

“How does tomorrow sound?” Dimitri asked. “That way, if either of us gets injured, we’ll have the weekend to recover.”

“Sounds like a plan, we can work out the details after class tomorrow,” Byleth told Dimitri, who offered her a kind smile.

“I look forwards to testing my skill against you. I’m going to go locate Dedue for some training tonight, would you care to join us in the training grounds?”

“I’m alright,” Byleth told him. “I should probably go find Claude; I’ve got some things that I want to talk about with him.”

Byleth didn’t miss his smile falter slightly the moment she brought up the archer’s name; however, he didn’t question her intentions. He simply offered her a curt nod as he said farewell before leaving. Glancing down at the vase in her hands, still overflowing with rue, Byleth let out a soft sigh as she decided that she would have to make a detour to her room to put it with the other plants she had received. Claude would have to wait.

* * *

_Friday_

* * *

Byleth awoke to a knock on her door. She slowly got to her feet, letting out a loud yawn as she did so. She swiftly tried to fix her hair (which she had forgotten entirely was still braided from Mercedes yesterday) before straightening out her blue loungewear to make herself look halfway decent before she opened the door.

In front of her stood Claude, who was looking at a vase full of daisies confused. When he realised that the door was opened, he looked at Byleth for a few moments longer than usual as he tried to formulate a sentence. Byleth raised an eyebrow at the brunette, and he just lamely tugged on his own side-braid.

“You look cute…” he finally told her, before becoming acutely aware of what he was holding in hand as he shook the vase slightly. “Also, these were sitting outside of your door.”

“Seriously?” Byleth couldn’t help but sigh as she took the flowers from him, leaving the door open so he could enter as she walked over to the stand near the window and put the vase down next to the others. Claude let out a low whistle as he looked at her corner of bouquets. He closed the door behind him as he came in.

“Those are a lot of flowers,” he said, his mouth twisted into a half-grin as he offered Byleth a wink. “Should I be jealous?”

“That depends, do you think there is anything to be jealous of?” Byleth enquired, and Claude gave her a knowing look.

“Maybe,” he said simply. “I heard you were looking for me yesterday.”

“I was, you’re pretty difficult to find when you want to be,” Byleth crossed her arms as she locked eyes with Claude, who just played innocent.

“I was busy,” he defended, dramatically placing a hand on his chest as he gestured to himself. “You know me, I’m a schemer. I can’t exactly plot out in the open, can I?”

“What are you planning?” Byleth questioned, taking a step towards Claude. She had an inkling suspicion that it had something to do with either her or the other Blue Lions, though Claude’s face didn’t give him away in the slightest.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased. “It’s nothing bad, I promise, I just need to borrow a book.”

“Which book?” as she asked the question, Claude took a step towards her, standing dangerously close to her. Byleth fought back a blush as she looked up at his face. He looked down at her, his eye’s half-lidded and a lazy smile on his face as he refused to answer her. Byleth opened her mouth to ask again, though she didn’t get a chance to utter a word before Claude’s arms engulfed her into a tight embrace against his chest as he reached to the desk behind her and plucked a book from the shelf.

Byleth had nearly melted from his embrace when he pulled back, quickly dropping the book into his bag before she could see the title. Snapping to her senses, she put on the most disapproving look she could muster as she clicked her tongue. “You know, I should be allowed to know what book you’re borrowing. What if I need it?”

“You won’t,” he assured her, plopping down onto her bed as though this were his own bedroom, clutching his bag close to him in case she tried to peak. “Besides, you’ll get it back on Sunday.”

“That’s oddly specific. Should I be nervous?”

“Are you nervous?”

“No.”

“Then no,” Claude glanced over at Byleth, sliding his bag off of his chest and to his side, raising his arm as he gestured for her to come over. Though she made a show of rolling her eyes, Byleth couldn’t resist the smile growing on her face as she walked over to the man, who promptly grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

There was no need for words between them as they just lay there, Byleth’s ear pressed up against Claude’s chest as she listened to his heart steadily beating. Though they were technically just ‘friends’ at the moment, it was moments like these when they both were acutely aware that they were one another’s missing piece. They allowed themselves to be completely and utterly vulnerable around the other.

Byleth had been nearly lulled into a deep sleep when she felt Claude’s warm hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. Letting out a soft groan, she buried herself further into Claude’s chest as she tried to return to sleep.

“Although I’d love to stay here all day, we should be getting to class,” Claude whispered to her. Byleth knew that he was correct, even if she desperately wanted him to be wrong.

“At least I don’t have greenhouse duty today,” Byleth said as she pulled herself off of Claude, immediately missing the warmth he provided. “Dimitri did so much yesterday that there’s nothing to do today.”

“Oh, he did? So, does that mean I get you all to myself today?”

“I’m afraid not,” she frowned, “I agreed to spar against Dimitri as thanks for his help.”

“That’s a funny way to say thank you if you ask me.” Byleth couldn’t help but agree with Claude, though she had plenty of experience with combat, to want to be rewarded for your actions with a fight. Was this why Felix always referred to Dimitri as a Boar?

“How about this, we meet afterwards?” Byleth suggested as a compromise. “We can either celebrate my victory, or you can nurse my wounds.”

“Maybe then you’ll finally bring up what you spent all of yesterday searching for me for,” Claude gave Byleth a pointed look. With a mischievous grin on her face, she gave the brunette a wink, catching Claude off guard.

“We’ll see how the match goes,” she teased, as Claude looked at her, his mouth hung wide open as he tried to process what that meant. “For all I know, I’ll be far to exhausted to form a coherent sentence.”

“Oh, that’s just mean.”

“Come on, we’re going to be late.”

* * *

_Saturday_

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Byleth beat Dimitri in their dual. Though it was closer than Byleth had cared to admit, though she had been training with the sword since she was old enough to hold a weapon, so had the prince. While his weapon gave him distance, hers gave her finesse. They each had a skill where the other had a weakness.

In the end, Byleth had won. But she had been too exhausted do much with Claude after their match had concluded. She had very unceremoniously dragged him back to her room before collapsing onto her bed. Thankfully, Claude knew better than to try to converse much while she was in that state, so he subsided and decided that he would simply join her under the covers—after all, that was the reason she had summoned him there. Though it was a tight kept secret from the rest of their classmates, there was one simple truth surrounding them: they always slept better when they were by the other’s side.

Byleth couldn’t quite remember just how they had discovered that fact. She had a vague recollection of having a late-night study session, and one of them ended up drifting off while they were in the other’s room. Since then, it’s just been an unspoken thing between the two of them that whenever one of them had any sort of sleeping issues, they would simply sleep with the other—no questions asked.

However, Byleth _hadn’t_ been having sleeping issues lately. In fact, the only thing that Byleth could think of that had been keeping her awake at night was Claude. Even when he wasn’t physically with her, Byleth couldn’t help but have her thoughts go back to him, no matter how mundane the thought was.

Though she would openly admit her inexperience in terms of romance, she wasn’t completely inept. Byleth knew what the feeling she had towards Claude was, and she had accepted it. Unlike others might believe, she wasn’t in denial. As much as she would love to rush headfirst into things, she simply couldn’t. She had been trained to strategise from a young age, meaning that she was overtly aware that every action had a reaction. And with romance being a matter that needed to be handled delicately, she was trying to do everything that she could to make sure it wouldn’t blow itself up in her face before proceeding.

Admittedly, a part of Byleth wanted to scream “Fuck it!”

She wanted to take a risk because she trusted Claude, and she’d be damned if her trust was an easy thing to earn. There were only a handful of people who had it, and Claude was one of those very few people. Which is why she so desperately wanted to prove that she trusted him wholeheartedly by finally giving him an answer.

About joining the Golden Deer. About being his girlfriend. About _everything._

And yet when she woke up that morning, instead of taking the opportunity to be open and honest with him, she panicked. Byleth knew she had nothing to panic about—Claude had made it blatantly obvious that he would reciprocate her feelings whether or not she was a part of the Golden Deer or not—and yet she couldn’t help it. She was human, after all. And to be human is to error.

So, she desperately tried to ignore Sothis screaming in her ear as she tucked Claude back into bed (who had been entirely undisturbed by her getting up). Placing a gentle kiss onto his forehead, she slipped out of her bedroom and headed somewhere she knew that she could be alone with her thoughts.

The greenhouse.

Though, it had quite tricky to actually get a minute alone as of late. It seemed no matter anytime Byleth went there, she would have company of some sort. Though she would never be opposed to it, sometimes she just appreciated the peace and serenity that came with being alone.

Maybe then she would finally be able to find the courage to take a leap of faith.

The moment she stepped foot into the greenhouse, she was met with the familiar smell of plants, humidity, and earth. Taking a deep breath, Byleth could feel herself calming down almost immediately.

She had arrived at the greenhouse much sooner than she had prior during the week, the sun was barely in the sky. And yet, Byleth wasn’t tired. Sure, her muscles were stiff from sparring with Dimitri the day prior, but she felt oddly energised. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason that she was so fond of spending time in the gardens.

Byleth was very much like a year-long flower. There were times where she was strong, and times that she was weak. Sometimes, her petals would be the most beautiful thing in the world. And when they would eventually be shed due to the hardships she would have to face, she would sprout new ones that were even better than the last.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she bent down to check if the soil was moist or not. She never quite imagined that she would compare herself to a flower so confidently, maybe she _should_ go back to bed. Admittedly, the thought of curling back up into Claude’s arms was a tempting one. But alas, she came here to get away from Claude. To be alone with her own thoughts.

She was alone, right?

The rustling near the flowerbeds told her differently, causing Byleth to freeze in her tracks. It was six in the morning on a Saturday, theoretically speaking, everybody should be in bed. Even the early risers at the academy would typically take a few hours to themselves in the morning, especially since breakfast didn’t begin until eight on weekends. So, who was in here?

The noise was too loud to be a rabbit and too constant to be a bird. Placing a cautious hand on the hilt of her dagger, Byleth crept closer to the sound. Her footsteps were silent as she scanned her surroundings for any sign of movement. Though it was likely that the intruder wasn’t threatening, she preferred to be cautious. Caution meant that you wouldn’t get killed.

When she finally caught sight of the intruder, she struggled to not roll her eyes, her hand instantly dropping from the dagger at her side. However, she couldn’t resist the temptation to continue to sneak near her target to see just how close she could get before them noticing. After all, it was an attempt to practice her stealth. Not to mention, it would allow her to teach her dearest classmate to be more perceptive.

It turns out that Byleth didn’t need any training when it came to stealth because she had managed to sneak right up to her classmate, her head peeked over their shoulder and to their hands which were swiftly weaving violets together in a halo.

“Boo.”

The flowers dropped from Ashe’s hands as he jumped a foot into the air as he frantically stumbled back to catch sight of what had spooked him. Rather than getting upset that Byleth had crept behind him, he let out a sigh in relief. Ashe began to mutter something along the lines of how he was glad it had been her rather than a ghost, before bending over and picking up his violet’s, continuing to weave them together with his nimble fingers.

“Sorry to scare you,” Byleth apologised, her gaze not leaving his hands. She found the entire process of him working oddly mesmerising, though that prompted another question. “What are you doing?”

“O-oh,” Ashe’s cheeks became tinged pink as he realised that he had been caught red-handed by Byleth. “Well, um, violets are my favourite flower, and I noticed a lot of them were in bloom. So, I thought that since there were so many of them, and since there are so many Blue Lions, I would make everybody a flower crown.”

“A flower crown?”

“Yes!” Ashe nodded his head excitedly. “My little sister used to always love whenever I would make her one and considering before we were adopted by Lonato we were…” Ashe trailed off as his expression deflated a bit. Swiftly the thought out of his head, he gave Byleth a gentle smile. “My point is flowers were easy enough to gather in the wilderness and free to pick. Whenever my younger siblings would feel down, I would always make them these to cheer them up!”

“That’s really sweet of you, Ashe,” Byleth took a seat on the dirt next to the grey-haired boy as she looked at the flower crown he was currently making. Upon closer inspection, she realised that he had several complete crowns sitting on a nearby table, next to a small pile of violets. Reaching over, Byleth grabbed a handful of violets as she looked to Ashe. “Do you mind if I help?”

“Not at all! Here’s what you need to do!” Ashe ran Byleth through the steps of assembling the flowers to make it stay together. It was a bit more challenging than Byleth was expecting since she had to be both precise and gentle in order to avoid crushing the blooms as she worked on weaving the next flower into the circle. Though her end product wasn’t nearly as elegant as Ashe’s, she was still a bit proud that she was able to do it at all. Not to mention the fact that Ashe didn’t hesitate to sing her praises about completing her first-ever flower crown.

“Do you want it?” Byleth questioned, holding the crown out towards Ashe. “It only seems fair that yours be made by somebody else since you’re going through all of the trouble to make them for the rest of the Blue Lions.”

Ashe seemed to pause in thought as his eyes flickered between the flower crown and Byleth. Gradually, a smile overtook his features as he took the ringlet from Byleth, gently placing it onto his head. Byleth couldn’t help but smile upon seeing just how cute Ashe looked with a crown made of flowers on top of his head. He looked like something pulled straight out of a fairy tale.

When Ashe offered her one of his crowns in return, Byleth happily accepted. “I think these are the best flowers I’ve received all week.” Ashe seemed surprised by her comment, his eyebrows furrowed as he replayed her sentence over in his head, before giving her a look in disbelief.

“Really?” his voice sounded hopeful, and Byleth slowly nodded her head. To be honest, it didn’t really take a lot. Felix giving her flowers had been a surprise, while Sylvain’s had been a blatant attempt to try to woo her. Dimitri giving her flowers looked as though it were a guise to get her to spar him (she was surprised that it was Dimitri who did it rather than Felix if she were honest). There were also the unknown daisies that had appeared at her doorstep the day prior, though she hadn’t the faintest idea who those could be from.

Ashe was the only one who gave flowers to not only her but to the rest of the Blue Lions as well. Though it was unintentionally his fault that everybody had been treating her oddly this week anyway, she knew it wasn’t from a place of ill-intent. He had simply walked into a conversation between her and Claude at a lousy time and frantically tried to recruit the others to convince Byleth to stay. It was a sweet enough gesture, even if it were a selfish one. Then again, wouldn’t Byleth be the selfish one if she chose to abandon them?

“Yeah. Now, what do you think about us surprising the others with these at breakfast?”

“I think that’s a great idea!”

Despite the fact that Byleth’s plan to be alone at the greenhouse hadn’t gone according to plan, she wasn’t terribly upset about running into Ashe. He had reminded her of the Blue Lion’s better intentions, and about why she was a part of their house in the first place. Though, this couldn’t help make things any more painfully apparent to Byleth: she had to make up her mind.

Tomorrow, that was it. She couldn’t put it off for any longer. She couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room anymore. She had to talk to Claude.

Byleth had a choice to make. She just hoped that she picked the right option.

* * *

_Sunday_

* * *

It turns out, she didn’t have to bother looking for Claude after her greenhouse duty had finished. When she had returned to her chambers, she found Claude sprawled across her bed, reading a book. Though this in itself wouldn’t have been that unusual, it was everything else in the room that was weird. Because her bedroom was absolutely covered in flowers.

Her desk was covered with roses of all colours, vines draped over the sides of it like a tablecloth with ambrosia and anemone weaved into it. She could hardly make out the bouquets she had received all throughout the week due to an explosion of chrysanthemums, daffodils, lilies, and forget-me-nots covering the entire wall. Not to mention the ceiling was draped in ivy.

Byleth turned to Claude with a dumb look on her face as she struggled to come up with a coherent sentence. His eyes flickered over to Byleth as he smirked, scootching over on the bed to make room for her to sit down. Upon realising that Byleth was in too much of a state of shock to react, he closed his book, flashing her the title. _The Language of Flowers._

“Told you I had a scheme that involved your book,” he reminded her. “Considering I’ve officially rendered you speechless, I’m going to chalk this up as a success.”

“What—how?!” Byleth finally snapped out of her daze as she looked at Claude in disbelief. She had been in the greenhouse just before returning to her room. How did he get these flowers here? How did he have the time to arrange them in such an intricate way?!

“I can’t reveal all my secrets, now can I?” Claude gave Byleth a playful wink before his eyes scanned over to the flowers that covered most of the room. “Though, I suppose that most of my secrets are out in the open now.” He tapped on the cover of the book, before throwing it at Byleth, who fumbled to catch it.

“You—” Byleth paused as she contemplated what to say. You gave me this book? No. You did all this for me? Still, no. You don’t need to give me this book because I already read it a hundred times? There was no simple way to sum up how Byleth was feeling. “You’re amazing.”

“I try.”

Byleth walked over to the bed wordlessly as she took a seat next to Claude, grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. His palms were sweaty, and Byleth couldn’t help but wonder if he was as nervous as she was.

“So, flowers,” Byleth gave Claude a playful look. “Don’t tell me that you just got me them because you were jealous that everybody else was.”

Though it was meant as a joke, Claude’s expression turned guilty as he tightened his grip on Byleth’s hand. “What would you do if I told you I was?”

“I’d tell you that you’ve got nothing to be jealous of,” Byleth reassured him, turning towards the brunette boy, and looking him dead in the eye. Though she was scared shitless about what she was about to say, she knew that it had to be done. “Because I don’t see them how I see you. The Blue Lions are my family, that much is true. But you—you’re so much more than that.”

“Does that mean—”

“If you’re okay with me staying in the Blue Lions, I’d be honoured to be your girlfriend,” as soon as the words left Byleth’s mouth, Claude let out a soft gasp. In an instant, Claude was sat up straight. He turned towards Byleth and took his free hand and cupped the side of her face, looking at her as though she were the only thing in the world. Byleth couldn’t help but shy away from the sudden attention, her gaze flickering downwards to their intertwined hands. “I only said yes to one of your questions.”

“I know,” Claude told her, staring straight into her blue eyes for any sign of doubt. He leaned forwards to get a closer look. “But it was the most important question.”

“Was it?” Byleth slowly met his gaze. Though she was still uncertain of what the consequences of her confession would entail for her future, she knew that her future would be nowhere near as bright without Claude in it. She knew the risk, but she had decided that it was one that was worth taking. She trusted him wholeheartedly.

“Don’t play coy, you are well aware of what that means,” with that said, the space between them closed as their lips locked. Claude’s hand slid from Byleth’s grip and around her waist, pulling her closer as they deepened the kiss.

Byleth found herself wrapping her arms around Claude, one arm pulling him closer to her while the other rested on the back of his head. After what felt like an eternity, the two broke apart, panting for breath as Claude rested his forehead against Byleth’s. “It means… you have made me the happiest man alive.”

“All I’ve done is agree to go out with you,” Byleth reminded him, gently playing with his hair as she spoke.

“I know. But that’s more than enough for me.”

“So, did you really look up all of these flowers meanings before you brought them here?” Byleth couldn’t help but find herself asking. Claude’s cheeks darkened as he slowly muttered out a confirmation.

“I did.”

“In that case…” Byleth leaned forwards and stole another kiss from Claude. However, rather than pulling away, she pulled Claude closer, whispering into his ear so that the words she spoke were words that only he would hear. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to include a TON of symbolism in this, so if you think that you've spotted any, feel free to comment and let me know! Also, any feedback between the romance scene between Claude and Byleth would be greatly appreciated! I'm not the most experienced when it comes to writing kissing scenes (but as a hopeless romantic, I'm going to be getting plenty of practice in my later works, trust me), so I'd love any input.
> 
> Stay safe, lovelies <3


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